Register compensating means for rotary members in web processing apparatus



Sept. 10, 1963 Q s tah 0 V. DUTRO ETAL REGISTER CMPENSATING MEANS FOR ROTARY MEMBERS IN WEB PROCESSING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 19, 1961 INVENTORS.

Orville V. Dufro BY Sherman H. Hewson 45 Donald AG/aser q TORNE YS.

United States Patent REGISTER COMPEN SATIN G MEANS FOR ROTARY MEMBERS 1N WEB PROCESSING APPARATUS Orville V. Dutro, 5068 N. Commonwealth, and Sherman H. Hewson, 640 Knightway, both of La Canada, Calif.,

and Donald A. Glaser, 1520 West St., Emporia, Kans.

Filed Oct. 19, 1961, Ser. No. 146,194 4 Claims. (Cl. 74-242.1)

This invention relates to means for adjustably indexing a register point in rotary mechanisms.

It is common practice to process elongated material by unreeling it from a roll and performing operations on it with rotary equipment. Examples of this type of operation are printing, scoring, manifolding, folding, slitting, and the like. In all of these processes, the rotary equipment periodically performs operations on the material at precisely spaced-apart locations. Because a plurality of operations must often be performed sequentially on the same regions or at the same points on the material, it is essential that some register point in all of the rotary mechanisms coincide lat unique points on the material. Accordingly, it is necessary to finely adjust the relative rotational orientation of the rotary mechanisms so that their operative portions are where they ought to be when a particular portion of the material on which the operations are to be performed are in position to be processed.

A familiar example which illustrates, but does not limit the invention, is in the printing of a plurality of colors on a web of paper. It is common to print as many as four colors in one area, with as many individual blanket cylinders operatingto lay down a respective color at successive positions along the web. In order for the resulting composite printing to be correct, all of the blanket cylinders must be in correct register relative to each other. Indexing or register points are frequently used to make certain that this relationship exists. Such rolls must be very closely adjusted. Accordingly, they are often set up to within A" to more or less by the eye of a skillful operator, and thereafter they are finely adjusted by examination of the work produced by the mechanism.

It is an object of this invention to provide a register point indexing means which is simple in construction and operation, and which can readily adjust the rotational orientation of a rotary mechanism, for example a blanket cylinder, even while the mechanism is running.

A related object of the invention is to provide an adjusting means which is effective to adjust only its own respective rotary mechanism, without \afiecting the path length of material between successive mechanisms, [and without affecting the settings of prior and successive mechanisms.

Inasmuch as the invention essentially relates to making a fine rotational adjustment between two rotary shafts, it is to be understood that it is useful not only in printing, but also in any type ofrotary apparatus wherein repetitive operations are performed on a web. ,The term web as used herein refers to material of indefinite length, and encompasses not only wide rolls of paper, but also ribbon, strip, tubing and wire.

A device according to this invention includes a drive shaft adapted to be connected to a source of power, and a driven sh-aft operably connected to a rotary element whose rotational position relative to the drive shaft is to be indexed. A rotatable belt driven means is attached to the driven shaft, and a rotatable belt drive means is attached to the drive shaft. The \axes of revolution of the means are parallel.

A substantially inelastic endless belt is trained over 3,103,125 Patented Sept. 10, 1963 the said means, forming two belt reaches, both of which reaches are longer than their respective lines of tangents. Belt forcing means is provided for each of the reaches for inversely varying the lengths of the reaches, thereby changing the rotational relationship between the shafts, and rotationally adjusting an index point carried by a member such as a blanket cylinder.

According to a preferred but optional feature of the invention, the belt drive (and belt driven means are sprockets, and the belt is a toothed timer belt, whereby errors of slippage are eliminated, and the indexed belt setting is reliably maintained.

According to still another preferred but optional feature of the invention, the belt-forcing means at one of the sides comprises a spring-loaded mechanism adapted to take up slack in the belt, and the other belt-forcing means comprises a pair of spaced-apart Wheels mounted to a pivotable member, and oppositely engaged to the belt to iadjustably vary the angular position of (the line of tangents between them relative to the line of tangents between the belt drive means and belt driven means, thereby varying the belt path length of the respective reach.

This invention will be fully understood from the following detailed desoription and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a web-processing unit utilizing -a rotary member required to be placed in register with a moving web and illustrating the register compensation means which forms the subject of [the pres ent invention, parts being broken away to illustrate details of construction;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view of the register compensation means removed from the unit; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic, elevational view of the drive means for a number of modular web-processing units, each utilizing register compensation means.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the figures, wherein printing apparatus broadly denoted by the numeral 10, comprises a housing 12 formed by a pair of opposed side walls 14 and a pair of opposed end walls 16 secured to respective ends of side walls 14. One of the side walls 14 is provided with a central, rectangular opening 18 therein for mounting register compensation drive mechanism broadly denoted by the numeral 20 therein, mechanism 20 to be hereinafter fully described. Each side wall 14 is provided with track means 22 adjacent the interconnection thereof with opposed end walls 16 which engage rail members 24- disposed on a surface above which apparatus 10 is situated. In addition, a panel 26 is swingably mounted on the side wall 14 having opening 18 therein by virtue of hinge means 28 adjacent the interconnection of the side wall 14 with one of the end walls 16. Panel 26 is provided with fastening means (not shown) for removlably securing the same in closing relationship to opening 18.

A pair of upright standards 30 is secured in any suitable manner to the uppermost edges of the opposed side walls 14 and provide support structure for the plate cylinder associated with apparatus 10.

An elongated shaft member 32 is jou'rnalled adjacent the ends thereof in upright standards 30 above the uppermost edges of side walls 14 and end walls 16 for rotation about a generally horizontal axis. The plate, blanket and impression cylinders of apparatus 10 may be coupled with shaft 32 through a plurality of gears. Shaft 32 extends outwardly from the standard above opening 18 and is provided with a toothed pulley or sprocket 34 suitable for use with a toothed timing belt, pulley 34 being disposed above and outwardly of the plane of the side wall 14 having opening 18 therein.

An elongated support 36 is secured to side wall -14 having opening 18 therein, and substantially spans the distance across opening 18 so that the longitudinal axis of support 36 is normally horizontally disposed. F astening means (not shown) is utilized for securing support 36 to the inner surface of the corresponding side wall 14 so that mechanism 20 may be mounted on the normally outermost surface of support 36 in vertical alignment with pulley 34 on shaft 32.

The base plate 38 of a gear box 40 is secured by means of bolts 42 to the generally innermost surface of support 36 intermediate the ends of the latter. Gear box 40 is provided with a shaft 44 which extends outwardly therefrom in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of support 36 and shaft 44 is adapted to be operably coupled to a source of power for rotating shaft 44 about the longitudinal axis thereof.

A hub 46 forms a part of gear box 40 and extends outwardly therefrom in a direction substantially normal to the axis of rotation of shaft 44. Hub 46 passes through an opening '(not shown) in support 36 and projects outward'ly therefrom substantially beneath shaft 32. Hub 46 provides bearing means for a shaft member 48 which is operably coupled with shaft 44 by virtue of gear mechanism within gear box 40. As shaft 44 rotates about the longitudinal axis thereof, shaft 48 is caused also to rotate about 'its longitudinal axis proportional to the speed of rotation of shaft 44 and it is .to be noted that shaft 48 is rotatable only under the influence of shaft 44. In the preferred embodiment of the subject invention, shaft 48 is vertically aligned with shaft 32 and is substantially centrally disposed intermediate the ends of support 36. A toothed pulley or sprocket 50 is suitable for use with a toothed timing belt and is rigidly secured to the outermost end of shaft 48' for rotation therewith. An elongated, endless, fiexible, inextensible, toothed timing belt 52 is trained over pulleys 34 and 50 in driving relationship to shaft 3-2 to rotate the latter responsive to the rotation by shaft 44. Belt 52 is provided with a plurality of spaced teeth 53- on the generally innermost face 55 thereof, teeth '53 extending along the entire length of face 55.

Mechanism 20 includes first belt forcing means 54 operably coupled with one reach 56 of belt 52, and further includes second belt forcing means 58 operably coupled with the opposite reach 60 of belt 52.

First forcing means 54 includes a stub shaft 62 secured to support 36 and extending outwardly therefrom in the direction of shaft 48. Stub shaft 62 is disposed above and to the side of shaft 48 adjacent the generally uppermost edge of support 36. An arm 64 is secured adjacent one end thereof to the outermost end of stub shaft 62 for movement therewith, it being noted that. stub shaft 62 is journalled in support 36 for movement relative to the latter. An idler pulley '66 is rotatably mounted on the opposite end of arm 64 and normally engages the outer face 57 of belt 52 on one reach 56 thereof. A coil spring :68 is disposed in surrounding relationship to stub shaft 62 between the proximal end of arm 64 and the outer surface of support 36. Spring 68 is provided with hook-shaped ends 70 and 72 which are hooked over proximal edges of support 36- and arm '64 to bias arm 64 in a direction to force pulley '66 into engagement with reach 56 of belt 52. Spring 68 is placed on shaft 62 under tension so that a steady force is applied to arm 64.

Second belt forcing means 58 comprises an elongated supporting leg 74 secured to the outermost surface of support 36 by bolts 76. Leg 74 is generally upright and has an uppermost end 78 provided with a hub 80 projecting laterally therefrom. A bell crank 82 is pivotally mounted intermediate the ends thereof to hub 80 by virtue of a pivot pin 84, the latter also mounting a toothed pulley or sprocket 86 thereon. An idler pulley 88 is rotatably mounted on one end of crank 82 and an internally 4 threaded sleeve 90 is pivotally mounted on the opposite end of crank 82.

It is noted that pulley 88 is mounted on the outermost face of crank 82, whereas sleeve 90 is disposed on the innermost face of crank 82. Belt 52 is operably disposed over pulley 86 and pulley 8 8 normally engages outer face 57 of belt 52 on reach 60 of the latter. Since leg 74 is stationary relative to support 36, pulley 86 is maintained in a fixed position relative to support 36. However, pulley 88 is permitted to swing toward and away from reach 60 of belt 52 responsive to the rotation of crank 82 about pin 84.

An elongated rod 92 is disposed within a ferrule 94 forming a part of and integral with the inner surface of side wall 114 containing opening 18. A knob 96 is secured to the uppermost end of rod 92 for manually rotating the latter, and the lowermost end 98 of rod 92 is externally threaded and threadeably received within sleeve pivotally mounted on crank 82. It is to be noted that the axis of revolution of rod 92 is laterally spaced from the plane of crank 82, and to this end, a connecting rod 99 interconnects and pivotally mounts sleeve 90 on the innermost face of crank 82. A port-ion of support 36 is removed to provide a notch 100 directly beneath rod 99 to provide clearance for the latter as rod 99 moves downwardly responsive to the rotation of rod 92, it being clear that the latter is journalled in ferrule 94 and generally fixed against longitudinal movement.

In operation, shaft 44, operably coupled with a suitable source of power, is rotated to rotate shaft member 48 and thereby shaft member 32 by virtue of timing belt 52. Since first and second forcing means 54 and 58 are between pulleys 34 and 50', said means 54 and 58 do not interfere with the normal driving operation of shaft member 32.

When it is desired to rotate shaft 32 through a small are so as to place the plate cylinder associated therewith in proper register with the web passing through apparatus 10, rod 92 is caused to be rotated by manually manipulating knob 96. The rotation of rod 92 causes crank 82 to pivot about pin 84 so that pulley 88 moves toward or away from reach 60 of belt 52. As pulley 88 moves toward reach '60, it forces reach 60 inwardly or toward reach 56 and, since shaft member 48 is immovable except under the influence of shaft 44 and, since belt 52 is inextensible, a certain length of belt 52 moves inwardly and reach 60 moves downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1. There fore, reach 56 moves upwardly a corresponding distance and pulley 66 moves outwardly or away from reach 60. Downward movement of reach 60 rotates pulley 34 in a counterclockwise sense when viewing FIG. 1 to thereby rotate the plate cylinder coupled therewith a corresponding amount. Conversely, as pulley 88 moves outwardly of reach 60, pulley 66 forces reach 56 inwardly toward reach 60 and a certain length of belt 52 moves inwardly to cause reach 56 to move downwardly. Simultaneously therewith, reach 60 moves upwardly a corresponding distance and pulley 34 is rotated clockwise, as viewed in FIG. 1, through an arc corresponding to the distance travelled by each of reaches 56 and 60.

In FIG. 4, a number of individual web processing units 102 utilizing rotary members, such as plate cylinders required to be placed in register with a movable web, are shown in modular arrangement schematically and each unit 102 includes a pulley 34 operably coupled to a shaft 32 which may or may not be directly coupled to the associated rotary member or members. Each unit 102 is provided with register compensation drive mechanism 20 for rotating the shaft 32 thereof to thereby place the members associated therewith, in register with the moving web. It is evident that mechanism 20 of each unit 102, is independentof the mechanism 20 on the adjacent unit 102 so that the registration of the rotary members of units 102 may be independently varied, depending upon the requirements for processing the web passing through units 102 in operating relationship thereto. It is conceivable that each unit 102 is adapted to perform an operation on the web, and to this end, it is necessary that the rotary members of units 102 be properly positioned with respect to each other to correctly perform the operations on the web as the same passes through units 102.

It is evident that apparatus may be in operation when rod 92 is manipulated to adjust the angular positions of pulley 34 and shaft 32. Mechanism in no way interferes with the driving of shaft 32 and therefore, the latter may continue to be rotated by shafts 44 and 48 while the registration compensation process takes place. An operator standing adjacent apparatus 10 is in position to manipulate knob 96 to rotate rod 92 and thereby perform said compensation process.

The term line of tangents as between pulley 34 and sprocket 50, refers to straight, external tangent lines drawn between the two, which do not cross. Were the shaft 32 reversely driven by crossing the belt, then the line of tangents would cross, then being internal lines, and path length for the respective belt reaches would refer to those lines of tangents. This is to say that the length of iine of tangent relates to the respective belt set-up. The line of tangents between pulleys as and S8 is an internal one represented by the illustrated belt path between them. Pivoting movement of bell crank 82 varies the angular orientation of the latter line of tangents relative to that between belt driven means 34 and belt driver means 50. This variation directly affects the belt path length of reach 60, and inversely varies the i path length of reach 56.

It will be understood that the belt will rarely follow the straight line of tangents between means 34 and 50, which line of tangents is a theoretical one, disclosed principally for reference and definition purposes.

This invention is not to be limited to the embodiment shown in the drawings and described in the description which is given by way of example and not of limitation, but only in accordance with the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Register point indexing means for adjusting the rotational position of a rotary element comprising: a driven shaft adapted to be operably connected to the rotary element; a drive shaft adapted to be connected to a power source; rotatable belt drive means attached to the drive shaft; rotatable belt driven means attached to the driven shaft, each of said means having an axis of rotation, the said axes being parallel; a substantially inelastic, endless belt trained over the two means to form two belt reaches, each of said reaches being longer than the respective line of tangents between the means; and a pair of belt forcing means for inversely varying the relative lengths of the said reaches to adjustably vary the angular relationship between the two shafts, and thereby between the drive shaft and the rotary element, a first of said belt forcing means comprising a second member engaging a second one of said reaches, whose position relative to the lines of tangents is adjustable in order to vary the length of said second reach, and the first of said belt forcing means comprising a first member engaging the first one of said reaches, whose position relative to the lines of tangents is yieldingly adjustable in response to forces derived from the adjustment of the first belt forcing means, the first member being force-biased against said first reach, whereby the length of the second reach is adj'ustably determined by the second member, and the first reach is maintained in tension by the first member at a path length determined by the second member, the rotary element being adapted to be driven by the drive shaft through the belt drive means, the belt, the belt driven means, and the driven shaft.

2. Register point indexing means according to claim 1 in which the belt drive means and belt driven means are toothed sprockets, and in which the belt is a timer belt engageable with the teeth of the sprockets.

3. Register point indexing means according to claim 2 in which the second member comprises a spring-loaded idler mechanism adapted to take up belt slack.

4. Register point indexing means according to claim 3 in which the second member comprises a pair of spacedapart wheels oppositely engaged to the belt and mounted to a pivotable member to adjustably vary the angular position of the line of tangents between them relative to the line of tangents between the belt drive means and belt driven means, whereby the belt path length of the respective side is varied.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,581,624 Wunderlich et al Apr. 20, 1926 2,949,851 Ghormley et a1. Aug. 23, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 41,456 Netherlands Ian. 2, 1930 

1. REGISTER POINT INDEXING MEANS FOR ADJUSTING THE ROTATIONAL POSITION OF A ROTARY ELEMENT COMPRISING: A DRIVEN SHAFT ADAPTED TO BE OPERABLY CONNECTED TO THE ROTARY ELEMENT; A DRIVE SHAFT ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO A POWER SOURCE; ROTATABLE BELT DRIVE MEANS ATTACHED TO THE DRIVE SHAFT; ROTATABLE BELT DRIVEN MEANS ATTACHED TO THE DRIVEN SHAFT, EACH OF SAID MEANS HAVING AN AXIS OF ROTATION, THE SAID AXES BEING PARALLEL; A SUBSTANTIALLY INELASTIC, ENDLESS BELT TRAINED OVER THE TWO MEANS TO FORM TWO BELT REACHES, EACH OF SAID REACHES BEING LONGER THAN THE RESPECTIVE LINE OF TANGENTS BETWEEN THE MEANS; AND A PAIR OF BELT FORCING MEANS FOR INVERSELY VARYING THE RELATIVE LENGTHS OF THE SAID REACHES TO ADJUSTABLY VARY THE ANGULAR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO SHAFTS, AND THEREBY BETWEEN THE DRIVE SHAFT AND THE ROTARY ELEMENT, A FIRST OF SAID BELT FORCING MEANS COMPRISING A SECOND MEMBER ENGAGING A SECOND ONE OF SAID REACHES, WHOSE POSITION RELATIVE TO THE LINES OF TANGENTS IS ADJUSTABLE IN ORDER TO VARY THE LENGTH OF SAID SECOND REACH, AND THE FIRST OF SAID BELT FORCING MEANS COMPRISING A FIRST MEMBER ENGAGING THE FIRST ONE OF SAID REACHES, WHOSE POSITION RELATIVE TO THE LINES OF TANGENTS IS YIELDINGLY ADJUSTABLE IN RESPONSE TO FORCES DERIVED FROM THE ADJUSTMENT OF THE FIRST BELT FORCING MEANS, THE FIRST MEMBER BEING FORCE-BIASED AGAINST SAID FIRST REACH, WHEREBY THE LENGTH OF THE SECOND REACH IS ADJUSTABLY DETERMINED BY THE SECOND MEMBER, AND THE FIRST REACH IS MAINTAINED IN TENSION BY THE FIRST MEMBER AT A PATH LENGTH DETERMINED BY THE SECOND MEMBER, THE ROTARY ELEMENT BEING ADAPTED TO BE DRIVEN BY THE DRIVE SHAFT THROUGH THE BELT DRIVE MEANS, THE BELT, THE BELT DRIVEN MEANS, AND THE DRIVEN SHAFT. 